Cold Therapy for immunity and mental health

One thing to do all year round to boost immunity, prevent disease, burn fat and support mental health…

Cold Therapy

Also called cold thermogenesis. The Europeans and Russians have been known to roll in the snow (snow bath) with the knowing that it increased the resilience of their immune system. And the Japanese are known for their hot and cold alternate bathing.  And historically, old German Naturopathic health spas would use snow bathing for their chronically ill and inflamed guests.

Known to improve our energy power batteries within our cells – called the mitochondria.  Also improves thyroid and adrenal function, helps with weight loss by increasing more fat burning “brown fat”, plus reducing leptin resistance – which is a hormone which prevents weight loss & when in the right amounts, promotes fat burning.  And yes, it does support our immune system plus a whole lot more.  The primary positive benefit is to reduce inflammation, the big factor in all illness.

Interested?

Think of Wim Hoff, the now celebrity cold water bather as an extreme version.  This guy has made the art of thermogenesis a funky and hip thing to do.  And Wim promotes cold therapy for mental health and resilience, and his depression and anxiety is what attracted him to it initially.  Which makes sense due the practice being an opportunity to set up new neural pathways for supporting resilience.

I’ve been doing this for a while now.  Having cold showers and jumping in the ocean quickly when to tell you the truth, I’d rather not.  And I’ve been doing it far into winter as my psychology at present will allow me. My challenge this year will be to keep it up throughout winter…which I intend to do – without a wet suit.

If you are interested in the benefits of cold therapy – it doesn’t have to be a big deal.  Just start by trying to have the end of your shower cold!  Or even better, as long as you can mentally muster.  Start with 5-10 seconds and work up to washing half of your body with cold water?

But the key is the breath through it and really trust that you are going to be ok.  Because you are.  You’re not going to die. It is just your brain playing tricks on you. It’s just cold water.  The more you tense through it, the more muscle tension you will get.  So relax and breath…and trust.  This part of the process is the part that promotes the mental resilience and builds new and positive neural pathways, for other day to day tasks that resilience is needed.  The whole process reminds me very much of the work of Dr Rick Hansen the Neuro-Psychologist and author of Hardwiring Happiness and Buddhas Brain.  He writes a lot about the research which encourages the holding of both the “challenging” and the “safe/ knowing that it will be ok” thoughts, both in your awareness at the same time.  This is what builds new neural pathways.

Have a try – for both mental and physical wellness.

 

 

category: mental health, mindfulness, inflammation, thyroid health, energy.